This invention relates to a dentifrice composition having an excellent cleaning ability and mild abrading property not causing damage of tooth enamel and giving good luster to teeth.
In general, abrasives for use in dentifrice compositions are required to have an increased ability of efficiently removing stain, dental plaque, and food debris adhered to or deposited on teeth with the aid of physical action, that is, an improved cleanability as a tooth cleaning agent, and to exhibit mild abrasiveness to such an extent that the tooth enamel will not be damaged, as well as to prevent deposition of dental plaque and calculus. Abrasives are also required to give luster to the tooth surface.
In this case, the efficiency of physical removal of stain, plaque, and food debris can be increased by using an abrasive having increased abrasiveness. Particularly, it has been a common practice in the prior art to enhance the cleaning effect of an abrasive on the tooth surface by increasing the abrasiveness thereof. However, increasing abrasiveness is generally opposite to the prevention of damage to the tooth surface. The higher the abrasiveness, the greater is the likelihood that the tooth surface would be abraded away. Particularly when brushing is done inadequately, there is the increased likelihood that wedge-shaped deffects would be formed and the tooth surface would be marred or scratched and reduced in luster.
Conventionally, an abrasive has been combined with a luster agent in order to give luster to a tooth surface and to smooth it, thereby preventing plaque and deposition of dental calculus. However, luster agents which conventionally are said to have luster-improving effect, although causing effect by themselves or in combination with an abrasive having almost no abrading property, cause no luster-improving effect in combination with an abrasive having high abrading property such as calcium hydrogenphosphate anhydride.